Improvement in hasps for freight-cars



B. P. LAMASON. Hasp for Freight-Oars.

No. 197,149. Patented Nov. 13,1877.

at; Ben LE1; anva/so Iwenu '1: WW 2 g kw UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN'P. LAMASON, OF MILTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HASPS FOR FREIGHT-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,149, dated November 13,1877; application filed October 23, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN P. LAMASON, of Milton, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania,.have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Device for Sliding Doors of Freight-Cars, &c., of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to an improved fastening device for securing or looking sliding doors; and it is specially designed for railroad freight-cars.

With the fastening and locking devices heretofore employed for securing such doors, burglars have found it an easy matter tov break into the carsby raising the doors up ofi their lower guides, and then pressing or forcing them out a sufficient distance to effect an entrance, or, by the removal of the upper or lower guides, to force the door entirely away from the opening it is intended to protect.

The object of my invention is to obviate this objection, and render such sliding doors absolutely secure against the operations of burglars, unless some portion of the car or door fastenings is actually destroyed.

To this end my invention consists, first, in an improved key-hasp, constructed of metal, and composed of a shank of suitable length, provided with a shoulder, button, or other similar device at one end, adapted to set and engage in a recess formed in' the outer walls of the car, said shank having hinged or otherwise loosely-attached to itsother end a hasp adapted to be secured to a staple on the sliding door by means of an ordinary padlock, a seal-lock, or other locking device; and, second, in the combination, with the sliding door and its sill, of certain devices for securing the opposite edge of the door tothe walls of the car, to prevent the door from being forced away from the wall on that side, as more fully hereinafter described.

V In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side Elevation of a freight-car, showing my improvement; Fig. 2, a perspective view of my improved fastening device in position upon the car; Fig. 3, a detached view of the slotted plate which confines the fastening device to the wall of the car; and Fig. 4, detached views of the fastening device.

The letter A. represents the body of an ordinary freight-car, and B the sliding door of the same, adapted to slide in the upper and lower guides G and D to and from the sill E at one side of the door-opening. The sill E is provided with dowel-pins F F, which set into recesses G G, formed in the door for the purpose, when said door is closed; or the dowel-pins may be secured in the edge of the door, and adapted to set into recesses in the sill instead.

The letter H represents the fastening device, formed of metal in two parts, one of which consists of a shank, h, having a cross-piece, shoulder, or button, h, on its lower end. Said lower end of the shank h is adapted to set through a slotted opening in a plate, I, secured over a recess, K, formed in the outer wall of the car-body just at the edge of the door, in such manner that the said shank, after the insertion of its end, may be turned, so as to cause the cross-piece, shoulder, or button to engage under the slotted plate, securely fastening said shank thereto. To the upper end of said shank is hinged or otherwise loosely attached a flat hasp, L, provided with a slot, 1,. which is adapted to fit over a staple, Z, on the outer face of the door, near its edge, the said hasp and shank being so constructed and secured together with respect to each other that when the hasp is fastened over the staple the crosspiece, shoulder, or button on the end of the shank will be in a locked position in the slotted plate, and incapable of being turned therein for removal.

The hasp, in the present instance, is represented as simply secured by means of a pin, N, passing through the staple; but it is evident that in practice it would be secured by means of a padlock, seal-lock, or other fasten ing device offering great security.

The fastening device and its attachments are preferably secured to the door by means of a chain, so that they cannot be removed from the same or lost when the door-is unlocked;

and it is evident that one or more of said de' vices may be employed, as may be found requisite. Moreover, in some instances the sill E may be dispensed with, and locking devices applied to both sides of the door.

The advantages of my improvement will be apparent fio'm the above description. The improved fastening device, by providing against any outward pressure of the door, ef-

fectually prevents it from being forced ofl',

even if both guides should be removed. In

fact, it effectually prevents the removal of the door without actually destroying some portion the car-body itself.

I claim as my invention 1. A fastening device for sliding doors consisting of a metallic shank having a permanent cross-piece, shoulder, or button at one end adapted to be held in or removed outwardly through the walls of the car, and a hinged hasp adapted to be secured to a staple on the door, whereby said door is prevented from being forced outwardly, substantially set forth.

2. In combination with the fastening device, the door and its sill, the dowel-pins secured in BENJ. P. LAMASON.

Witnesses:

H. E. ANGSTADT, W. F. NEWELL. 

